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Hot Chocolate made the Colombian way

Saturday, 11 February 2012

The perfect cup of hot chocolate? Look no further than South America my friends!

Regular readers will know that with Mr DI hailing originally from Colombia, there's a fair bit of Latin influence in my life.

So today I thought I'd show you how we make our favourite winter warmer,

Colombian-style.

First you need a bit of basic equipment. A metal jug, known as 'la jarra'....

and a wooden whisk - we call it 'el molinillo'.

So, first you need to add your chocolate of choice. In Colombia there are various types - a special block chocolate is common, but powder is also used. Here I'm using Green & Black's Organic powder drinking chocolate. You need about 4 teaspoons for each mug.

Next, measure out your milk. I find it easiest to just fill the mugs I'm using, then there's no waste and you get exactly the amount of liquid that you need. I like semi-skimmed milk as it has about the right amount of creaminess for me.

Pour the milk into the jarra with the chocolate...

Turn on your heat and you're ready to get going with the molinillo.

Now for the fun bit! Grab the molinillo between your hands and twizzle it backwards and fowards. As the chocolate begins to melt into the warming milk this action helps to add air and gives you a lovely frothy texture.

When the liquid starts to bubbly lightly, turn off the heat and you're almost done... Get your mugs ready!

Grab the jarra by the handle - be sure to use a tea towel or an oven glove as it gets really hot - then pour the steaming nectar into each mug...